A definitive article from The New Republic-essential to those who care about Bush's alarming and criminal exaggerative admonitions about Iraq.
(Oooo--I'm trying so hard not to say "lies"..yikes...I went and said it again!)

"..'The democratic processes ... are subverted when intelligence is manipulated to affect decisions by elected officials and the public.' ..If anything, this principle has grown even more important since September 11, 2001...."

"It is up to the president and his administration....to portray the intelligence community's findings honestly. If an administration represents the intelligence unfairly, it effectively forecloses an informed choice about the most important question a nation faces: whether or not to go to war.
That is exactly what the Bush administration did when it sought to convince the public and Congress that the United States should go to war with Iraq..."

WELL---- DUH!This is the problem with the media.
This story could have come out BEFORE the war.
It's no wonder the polls prove so often that the public is so misinformed!

This proves an important point. Journalists should INDEED watch what they say..
and they should say it often and not be afraid of what they are watching themselves saying!!!
Stop giving this administration a Teflon-coated free pass!
Yes, Washington Post---this intelligence information was classified...and you were too afraid to talk about your gnawing doubt about the truth
of the lack of evidence regarding the Iraq-AlQaeda connection BEFORE the war....when it really would have counted.

Excerpt:
"In a nationally televised address last October in which he sought to rally congressional support for a resolution authorizing war against Iraq, President Bush declared that the government of Saddam Hussein posed an immediate threat to the United States by outlining what he said was evidence pointing to its ongoing ties with al Qaeda.
A still-classified national intelligence report circulating within the Bush administration at the time, however, portrayed a far less clear picture about the link between Iraq and al Qaeda than the one presented by the president, according to U.S. intelligence analysts and congressional sources who have read the report."

An article by Ron Brownstein from June 21- Centrists Losing Ground in Democratic Tug of War -shows that the act of blurring differences between Republicans and Democrats may have worked for Bill Clinton, but it's not going to fly in 2004. It's nothing more than piss-warm political pablum. We need a giant step forward if we're going to once again recognize the America for which our forefathers fought and died. Bush has really shown us what hard right looks like. Why would we want to remain anywhere close to that perilous tilt with a "new" Democrat?
I mean, come on, DLC... Bush is Hitleresque-- without the mass genocide...oh--and also without the mustache. Who needs genocide when Americans are malleable and complacent? Why the hell would the DLC want to play into the politics of hard right? If you show the American people that you understand what American democracy means and point out the naked Texas emperor at every opportunity, the American people will "get it". The DLC seems to have NOT so much lost faith in their OWN
once-closely held principles....more alarmingly, they've lost faith in the American people's ability to think for themselves...a misjudgement that will either be their undoing...or American democracy's undoing if the people don't wake up.

Here is another great opinion on the topic from the Memphis Flyer website:
http://www.memphisflyer.com/onthefly/onthefly_new.asp?ID=2434"The Democratic Party may have had all the “moderate” it can stand. There’s nothing “moderate” about George W. Bush and the Republican Party. As a matter of fact, a larger agenda of fundamentally changing the role of government is taking place in Washington, and no one is doing anything to stop it.
The problem isn’t that Democrats are on the wrong side of the issues. They are afraid to make an issue of being on the right side - not to mention directly in the middle of mainstream America."
.

Jude Says..

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About Me

Iddybud is a descendant of American patriots, membership to DAR pending, a descendant of a family member who lost another dubious American Presidential election in 1876, so you might understand why she took Selection 2000 to heart.

desiderata - by max ehrmann
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.
Take kindly to the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
Max Ehrmann c.1920